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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24526573">Life and Understanding - Improvment</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordQueen/pseuds/WordQueen'>WordQueen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Baefriend?, Determination, Drama queen Sans, Friendship/Love, Funny intimidation attempts, emotional reader, everything works out, reader is trying their best</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:14:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,832</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24526573</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordQueen/pseuds/WordQueen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You are determination. You are perseverance. Nothing is ruining this night.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Papyrus &amp; Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Life and Understanding - Improvment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is another intimidation fail for sans, it can be read as a standalone or you can think of it as a prequel to my first story. Back when Reader and Papyrus were just 'friends'.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You were concentrating. Focused. Your eyes narrowed in determination. Willpower stronger than steel. The stillness and steadiness of a experienced sniper. You were unmovable. Unstoppable. An unflappable warrior. Nothing would shake you. Nothing would ruin this dinner. You stayed strong, even when you could swear that you could physically feel the burning glare directed towards you. You refused to bat an eye. This was a standoff. A battle of wills. And you would not lose to -<br/>
"SANS. WHO IS AT THE DOOR?" Ah...relief. Perfect and sweet relief in the form of a skeleton. You are quick to take your victory. "Its me Papyrus! Sorry for being late" you yell and roughly push past the horrible evil that calls itself your best friend's brother.<br/>
Familiar with the house, you make your way confidently to the kitchen. Papyrus meets you at the entrance and you boldly pull him into a hug. "Hey...I brought pie."  You shake the bag in your left hand a little, showing your reason for being late. "It took me a while to find the right kind for you. Its my favorite, hope you like it too Paps." You pull away from the hug and look up at him, eagerly taking in the blush that you knew would be there. "THANK YOU FRIEND. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM ALWAYS WILLING TO TRY NEW FOODS. THOUGH SPAGHETTI WILL ALWAYS BE THE BEST! NYEH HEH HEH!" You tried not to start grinning like a fool but Papyrus seemed to always have that effect on you. "Of course Paps, I'm sure it will be great. Can't wait to try it!" You have been eager to have him cook for you. You loved a man who could cook. For days, he had been asking to cook his favorite food for you but you refused until now. You wanted to bring something for dessert, and it took awhile because of unforseen issues. It turned out that baking was not as easy as you thought it would be. You wanted to make the pie from scratch, have it be meaningful and special because papyrus would be cooking for you.
Sadly you messed up twice. The first pie burnt and the second had too much cinnamon, not enough sugar. Ugh... Rather than waste more time and ingredients, you gave up and bought a pie instead. "RIGHT THIS WAY. THE FOOD IS ALREADY DONE." You followed him into the kitchen and unexpectedly locked eyes with an abomination. 'Huh, guess he teleported in while we were talking,' You thought to yourself 'Just to sit in the seat facing the doorway so he could stare menacingly as I walked in...? Pffft!' You fight the urge to smirk at him and instead decide to ignore the dramatic lazy ass. You pay him no mind and quickly take a seat at the table. You are eager to have this long awaited dinner with Papyrus. It sucks that Sans is going to stay but nothing is ruining this for you. 
 Papyrus was quick to go over to the stove where the food sits, making you realize how rude you were being. You stand again to offer him help and get your own plate. "Sorry paps, let me help with something." You are halfway to him when he denies you. "NO FRIEND. YOU ARE A GUEST. IT IS THE HOST'S DUTIES TO SERVE THE FOOD! PLEASE, SIT BACK DOWN." Papyrus smiles at you and you ignore the butterflies in your stomach. "If you're sure..." You mutter and turn back to the table to sit. Once there you are confronted with what has to be the pettiest person on the planet. Sans smirks at you derisively from the opposite side of the table. You resist rolling your eyes at the walking mess, determined not to let him get to you. Instead you turn your attention back to Papyrus, who is coming towards the table. Somehow he is balancing three plates as he walks quickly. He sets two down, one for you and one for the mess before taking his own seat with his food. "I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO TRY MY FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus exclaims while smiling at you. You smile back, and you finally turn your attention to the food and its....what? For a moment your mind is empty in disbelief. You are taken aback. 
  You don't know it yet, but your face is very obviously showing your shock. You also don't notice the way that Sans has tensed up in his seat, trying to warn you with a discreet glare. You look to Papyrus on reflex, for a sign that this is a joke. He is already looking back at you and...no. That is sincere eagerness and pride on that sweet face. You focus back on the 'food'. Charred in some places, and very obviously uncooked in others. And the sauce doesn't seem like sause, just mushy crushed up tomatoes. No seasoning to speak of. Not to mention the glitter everywhere. This close and focused on it, you now notice the burnt smell. For a second you honestly have no clue how to react. You hesitantly start with a question. "Papyrus...what is this?" Your voice comes out soft, it adds to the growing tension that is now noticeable to you. You become uncomfortable, suddenly aware of Sans' glare. He has no eyelights. You are not surprised. "IT IS MY BEST FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI! I MADE IT JUST FOR YOUR ARRIVAL!" He seems cheerful. And eager for you to try it. And so, so oblivious that this is practically inedible.
  Your heart drops and you feel bad, because you know that you are not going to eat this. It almost feels like a crime to let Papyrus down, but you know that eating his 'friendships spaghetti ' will have you laid up with a stomachache for who knows how long. You take a deep breath and open your mouth. "Papyr-." " Heh. That overwhelmed with how much my bro worked to cook for you human? He spent hours in the kitchen this time, making it perfect. " Sans' voice comes out easy going, and his face matched. At least until Papyrus turned his attention back to you completely. And then you witnessed the eyelights disappear again....
  You really like Papyrus . You have been looking forward to this night. You were disappointed when Sans answered the door. You had foolishly hoped that he wouldn't be here. You were a little stung when Sans mocked you after papyrus rejected your help. You were shocked and disappointed when you saw the food Paps had cooked. You were dreading telling your friend that you couldn't eat what he made for you. You were tense from Sans trying to intimidate you. And now... Now he had deliberately cut you off, shoving the fact that Papyrus had genuinely tried to do something nice for you into your face. He was actually trying to guilt you into giving yourself food poisoning... That was the last straw. You are not proud of it, you wanted to be gentle in your explanation. But in your defensiveness over the guilt you were feeling and your eagerness not to let Sans bully you into silence you blurted, "I can't eat this!" 
  Silence. You close your eyes in regret, dread building up more. You hear Papyrus shifting in his seat beside you. "W-WHAT? WHY...?"  The stutter makes a lump appear in your throat and your eyes burn faintly. You can't believe that this is what gets to you, but this dinner is going downhill and you have always hated hurting the feelings of those you cared about. You take a moment to breathe and calm down, then you look at Papyrus, trying to ignore Sans completely. Even though he looks to be seconds away from hurting you. "I'm sorry Papyrus..." you start softly, "but I can't eat this. Some of the noodles are uncooked." That's what you try to focus on. As if ignoring the glitter and the burnt parts, and focusing on telling him about the raw parts will make your criticisms less hurtful. But oh you were hoping... "Humans can't eat raw foods Papyrus. It messes up their stomachs....I'm sorry. I know you worked hard and I really appreciate it." Papyrus looked shocked....And hurt. Tears try to well up again and you are frustrated with yourself for it. You find it hard to continue while looking at Papyrus ' hurt face. Luckily for you that there is someone here who's opinion you care nothing about. You look at him, already knowing what to expect, but preferring it to Papyrus ' confused hurt. 
  Yep... There is the 'I'm going to kill you slowly' face. Shocker. But it gives you the resolve to be honest and replaces your negative feelings with calm rationale. "Don't feel bad Paps. You've never cooked for a human before have you? I'm sure monsters can eat things that humans cant. Like magic... Humans can't eat a lot of magic foods, so how are you supposed to know that we can't eat raw foods like monsters can? It's understandable really, to not realize." You are rambling at this point. Trying hard to spare his feelings as much as you can. Anything to get that look off his face. "Nyeh - NYEH HEH HEH! OF COURSE! I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT. AS PERFECT A COOK AS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM I HAVE NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO COOK FOR A HUMAN!" 
  His reaction still doesn't sit right with you. You can tell that hurt and embarrassment are behind the confident words. But you take the out you've been given. "Well, now is the perfect time to learn! As your official human friend I, the great _______, am going to help you fix your first human style friendship spaghetti!" You smile and grab his arm. Trying to put as much warmth, reassurance and friendly teasing into it as you can. This dinner has not gone how you thought it might, but you are determined to salvage it. "OF COURSE IT IS ONLY RIGHT THAT MY HUMAN FRIEND HELPS WITH MY SPECIAL HUMAN STYLE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!" Annnnd there....that adorable blush is back. Things are starting to look up and you are relieved. You avoided what could have been a disaster and now you get to cook WITH papyrus. It's almost domesti - friendly! Friendly, yes! Like just friends making friendship food... You ignore the blush on your own cheeks and quickly distract yourself.
  "Onwards then! To the friendship spaghetti ingredients!" You exclaim. Papyrus laughs and you give in to grinning like a fool. Yes, this dinner will be just fine. You and Papyrus starts to prepare the food. You go over how to fix everything and Papyrus pays close attention. You spend the time talking, laughing and teasing each other. And because of that you genuinely don't notice the brooding drama queen silently watching it all. You won't let anything ruin this dinner.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Writing has not been as quick as I thought it would be. Life and my own eagerness to start new stories are getting in the way of me FINISHING them lol. This writing thing is harder than I thought it would be. I am good at reading and thinking of ideas, not so much at finishing writing/typing the stories out fast. So basically I will definitely be posting only once a week. This one was done last week but I decided to save it for this week 😅 Its late but enjoy!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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